Fresh off the passage of Act 53 of 2024, which enables the City of Pittsburgh to create a Longtime Owner-Occupant (LOOP) property tax relief program the Pennsylvania House Finance committee discussed legislation to allow such a program in all counties.
The proposed legislation would begin the process of amending the Constitution “to make it possible for other counties to create LOOPs. By making this change to the Constitution, the General Assembly with [sic] be able to provide additional property tax relief tools for residents.”
A 1984 amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution permits the General Assembly to allow first and second class counties (Philadelphia and Allegheny) to “make uniform special real property tax provisions applicable to taxpayers who are long owner-occupants” and the relief is based upon rising values “as a consequence of the refurbishing or renovating of other deteriorating residences or the construction of new residences.”
Act 146 of 1988 carried out the constitutional language. Allegheny County had a LOOP program briefly afterward but it was invalidated by the courts. The City of Pittsburgh expressed interest in having its own LOOP regardless of whether the county did, and Act 53 did so by defining “municipality” to include “a city of the second class.” The city has not yet introduced an ordinance to have a LOOP but the city code still contains language from the early 1990s when the program was in place.
The state bill would have to pass two successive legislative sessions and then go on the ballot for approval. This is similar to the 2017 process by which voters approved an increase to the homestead exemption language; the General Assembly has yet to pass legislation for that change.
If the amendment is eventually approved by voters, local taxing bodies will then determine if they want to enact a LOOP and how much it would cost. By way of comparison, in 2023, Allegheny County’s homestead exemption cost $25.9 million and the City of Pittsburgh’s cost $6.1 million.
